Always Be Writing: Manuel Romero on Building a Latin Singer-Songwriter Career (Episode 40)

Everything you do is an audition.

Episode 40 opened season three of The Career Musician, and Nomad brought a Latin crooner into the studio at Nomad's Place in LA. Manuel Romero talked about growing up on mariachi, singing on America's Got Talent, and, as Nomad put it in the intro, his new signing with Warner Music Mexico and his single "Aquí Me Tienes." He even jammed one of his original songs with Nomad, which you can catch on the TCM Jams playlist on YouTube.

It is a warm conversation about building a career as a singer-songwriter: finding your sound, staying true to it, and building the team around it.

Raised at the family party

Manuel was born in San Jose to a Mexican American family and moved to Mexico City as a baby. Music was never pushed on him. It was just everywhere. At family parties his uncles pulled out guitars, and before long it was Manolito's turn to sing, standing on a table while his dad and uncles played.

In elementary school he sang with a national choir that toured Mexico, and one highlight was singing for Pope John Paul II on a visit to Mexico City. He was too young to understand it at the time.

Heard from across the room

At around 10 or 11, Manuel performed at a big talent showcase in Vegas. No band, just him, his sister dancing on a few songs, and backing tracks. After his set, a man in a big hat and coat came to the stage surrounded by cameras. It was producer Narada Michael Walden, who said he heard the voice from a distance and had to see where it was coming from.

That is Everything you do is an audition. A kid with backing tracks at a showcase had no idea who was listening.

Manuel worked with Narada for a while and watched how a song starts with just a guitar and gets built into something bigger, how to create the moments that give a listener chills. They recorded some tracks, but it turned out not to be the right style for him. Nomad called that mature: being able to zoom out and say this isn't the direction. Manuel's view is that it isn't only about you. It's about how other people hear you and see you.

Find your sound, then stay true to it

His dad played him the Bee Gees, the Beatles and Journey, but Mexican music was always at the heart. A video of Manuel singing at a mariachi festival showcase is what got the label's attention.

The music he described in this episode blends mariachi instruments and accordion with drums and electric guitar, respectful of the essence of mariachi with a fresh sound for a younger audience. And when it came time to choose singles, he made one thing clear to his team and the label: put the best song out, whoever wrote it. They picked one of his.

"Don't try to emulate people... Appreciate, learn from others, but always be the guy that got you to where you are, because if not, what's the point?"

Manuel Romero, 28:57

Hurry up and wait, then be ready

Manuel tried out for America's Got Talent almost on a whim, after fans kept asking. He passed an audition in San Francisco and went to LA on his own at 18, no parents on the plane, and sang a cappella for the judges.

He gets nervous, and he thinks you should. If you don't feel some butterflies, maybe you shouldn't be there. Just don't let them take over. When he sang the national anthem for Bay Area sports teams, his dad's advice was simple: you have a minute and a half to go out there and be great.

TV, he says, is a lot of sitting around. In the lobby at 6 or 7 in the morning, then nothing until three or four in the afternoon. Keep your mind busy, write, handle business, and when they call your name, be ready, because you get one shot.

His best gig mishap came at one of those anthem gigs, a big televised fight in San Francisco when he was 13 or 14. The dry cleaning got mixed up, and he sang in his much bigger grandpa's pants, belted tight like a zoot suit.

Always be writing

At a Grammy in the Schools event in the Bay Area, Manuel met a songwriter who gave him advice he took to heart.

"Make sure you're always writing. Make sure you always have the next thing ready to fire, because once you take off, you're not gonna have time to be sitting there... writing songs."

Manuel Romero, 22:19

So he works with the time he has. Coffee and guitar every morning to see what comes. Five hours singing in the car from San Jose to LA. That is Luck = preparation + opportunity. The call comes when it comes. Your songs need to be ready before it does.

Treat it like a job, and build your team

On business, Manuel is clear that writing a great song isn't enough anymore. Social media is part of the job, because people want to see what goes on behind the scenes. He has had plenty of moments that felt like the big break and then weren't. His answer: learn from it and don't give up. The second you put down the guitar for good, you'll be miserable, and it could be an opportunity missed.

"Look for the right people to surround you. Your team is really everything."

Manuel Romero, 37:13

His dad was his first manager, calling events to ask if his son could sing. He took Manuel as far as he could, and then a management team that shares the same vision took over. That is Make Music Your Business.

Nomad noticed something else across the conversation: the higher up the chain you go, the more humble the talent seems to be. Manuel sees musicians as a family, where you move toward talent instead of away from it. That is Humility, the H in ETHOS.

The takeaway

Sing like someone important is listening, because one day they will be. Know what your sound is, stay true to it, keep writing so you are ready when the door opens, and build a team that sees the same finish line. If an audition or showcase is next for you, start with the free Audition Secrets guide, and find Manuel at manuel-romero.com.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

Watch on YouTube or find every episode on the TCM Podcast page.